Blue Jackets rally to pick up point, lose to Canucks in OT

VANCOUVER-- The Columbus Blue Jackets rallied to increase their lead for third place in the Metropolitan Division, scoring three third-period goals before losing 5-4 in overtime to the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on Saturday.

WATCH: [All Blue Jackets vs. Canucks highlights]
Columbus scored three times in the final 3:58 to tie it 4-4 before Alexander Edler scored 1:21 into overtime for the Canucks.
Columbus trails the Pittsburgh Penguins for second place in the Metropolitan and is two points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers, who have one game in hand.
"It's a big point," Columbus defenseman Seth Jones said. "You understand how big this game could have been standings-wise. You go into every game wanting to win, but the way we got that point showed a lot of character."
Pierre-Luc Dubois made it 4-2 with a power-play goal at 16:02, Zach Werenski made it 4-3 at 18:23, and Cam Atkinson scored 16 seconds later to tie it 4-4.

"We're a team that regardless of the score we are never out of the fight, and with five minutes left we found a way to get a crucial power-play goal right away and it kind of gave us some momentum and we just kept chipping away," Atkinson said. "[Artemi Panarin] made a great play to [Werenski] on the third goal, and Jones made a [heck] of a pass to me and I wasn't going to miss that one."
Jones had a goal and three assists, Panarin had four assists, and Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves for the Blue Jackets (44-29-6), who lost for second time in 14 games.
"There were a number of guys that struggled, some big guys that struggled, but those last few minutes some big guys stood up -- [Panarin], Jones -- and made some huge plays," Columbus coach John Tortorella said.
Jussi Jokinen had a goal and two assists, and Thatcher Demko made 26 saves in his NHL debut for the Canucks (30-40-9). Vancouver, eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention March 14, has won four straight games for the second time this season.

"It wasn't too much fun those last five minutes in the regulation, but overall we played really well," Jokinen said. "That's one of the best teams in the League right now. To play like we played gives our team confidence, our young players the confidence they are good players. Going forward, this gives our whole team confidence."
Jones scored his 16th goal of the season on a power-play one-timer to make it 1-0 at 13:55 of the first period, and assisted on the three third-period goals to give him 54 points, breaking the Columbus record for a defenseman set by James Wisniewski in 2013-14 (51).
"My teammates have found me this year, and when I have found them they have put the puck in the net, so it feels good," Jones said. "It's a pretty cool accomplishment."
Darren Archibald scored for Vancouver to tie it 1-1 at 11:53 of the second period, with Ashton Sautner getting an assist for his first NHL point in his fourth game. Nikolay Goldobin made it 2-1 at 13:37, finishing a give-and-go with Jokinen.
Jokinen, who was traded to the Canucks by the Blue Jackets on Feb. 26, made it 3-1 at 5:14 of the third period, and then set up Bo Horvat to make it 4-1 with 5:57 left.
"Every time you play against your old team you want to show they made a mistake letting you go," Jokinen said. "For sure I had extra motivation."

Goal of the game

Atkinson's goal with 1:21 left in the third period.

Save of the game

Demko's save on Atkinson 57 seconds into the second period.

Highlight of the game

Edler's goal 1:21 into overtime.

They said it

"We're still fighting for our lives, so we can't afford to take our foot off the gas pedal for a second, and when we did, it showed. It shouldn't be the last five minutes when we show desperation, but we found a way to get one huge point." -- Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson
"I think the posts are bigger up here than they are in the AHL. I just tried to enjoy it. I had a blast. Even when they scored on three consecutive shots, I was still smiling." -- Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko; four Blue Jackets shots hit the post

Need to know

Columbus defenseman Markus Nutivaara left with an upper-body strain early in the second period. "He'll be fine; we'll see where he is in a couple of days," Tortorella said. … Panarin has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in his past seven games, and 31 points (11 goals, 20 assists) his past 21 games. ... It was Jones' first four-point game in the NHL.

What's next

Blue Jackets: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Canucks: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, ATTSN-RM, NHL.TV)